


The History Project

by munchzilla



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: American History, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Imprisonment, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Steve Rogers Feels, history nerd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-08 14:38:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/munchzilla/pseuds/munchzilla
Summary: At Sam's begging, Steve takes a bit of a break. He decides to enroll in some classes and has to do a project with Charlie. She doesn't think much of him at first, but they grow on each other and over time they begin to love each other. But then Civil War happens and the government comes for Charlie, thinking she knows where Steve is after his sudden disappearance. Things come to a bit of a head when Charlie finds out that Stevie Grant, the big doofus from American History class is actually Steve Rogers, the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan. (this is my first fic on this site, I suck at summaries)





	1. Ch1: Project Partners

How did he get in this mess? Steve couldn’t help but wonder as he stood here. No, this wasn’t a mess, this was a fiasco. He had finally rescued her from the Raft. That wasn’t the place for her. The Raft wasn’t a place for anyone. But Sam, Scott, Clint, even Wanda, they were his friends. They had known what might have happened and what they were getting into. While he felt deeply guilty for them being thrown in there after the fight at the airport, he had rescued them. She didn’t deserve this. She was only in this predicament because of him.  
Steve looked at her sleeping form as he stood across the way on the balcony overlooking the gardens in Wakanda. T’challa had been a big asset and a dear friend to him. He finally was able to get out there and bring her back. He brought Bucky back. But he never knew what it would have done to her. She was simply a victim of circumstance. No, she was a victim because she was important to him. It was circumstance how they met, but now, he didn’t want to imagine life without her.  
Her form stirred and Steve turned around and walked back into the room. She looked around as she blinked, bleary and still somewhat groggy. She looked confused, startled. Steve sat down beside her as he felt like she breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Stevie… Where am I? What is this place? Why are you here? I thought…”  
Steve pulled her in close to his chest as she started sobbing. Her hands and body trembled as she wrapped her arms around him. She looked dwarfed against his massive chest. Even the Army tee-shirt that she wore seemed to drape comically on her smaller frame. After the talk that he had with T’challa last night, he knew what it was that he had to do. The Truth.  
“Okay, it’s okay. You are safe Charlie. But it’s time you knew the Truth about things.”  
Charlie sniffed and looked up at him. Her eyes were in pain as she continued to shiver against his chest. Steve launched into a big explanation about who he really was. How he wasn’t just Stevie from their class project they had worked on, not just the Stevie who had gone to her doctorate graduation. He was Steve Rogers, Captain America, Hero and Fugitive. The look on her face had gone from terror to confusion. Even though she was still shivering against his chest, Steve could see the look on her face like she was trying to process it. It was that same cute little face that she had made when they had spent so much time together in the library and she came across a particularly confusing passage in a book.  
“You mean THE Steve Rogers. Captain America, the Star-Spangled Man with a plan?”  
She questioned as she looked up at him.  
“It’s my fault that you got taken. It was because I…. because you and me…. Because I love you. They were hoping to get to me through you.”  
Steve then launched into another explanation that he had broke into the raft where she had been held prisoner and brought her here. That here was Wakanda, an African kingdom where they would be safe.  
“Hey Charlie talk to me?”  
Steve asked her as he ran a thumb over her hand. Charlie was silent and it seemed that she was trying to figure out what words that she could string together to describe exactly what it was she wanted to say.  
“I know you hate me for this. It’s my fault that you’re stuck here...”  
Steve said as she pushed against his chest and turned to look at him with her amber colored eyes. His heart pounded in his chest and he did his best to take deep breaths, hoping that he wasn’t showing the anxiety that came with telling someone you loved them for the first time.  
“I love you too Stevie. I… I will just have to adjust… It’s a lot to take in. And we should have gotten a higher grade on our Normandy Project.”  
Steve’s laughter boomed in the spacious room, his chest shook and laughed. There was that sarcasm and wit that he had loved about her. She rested her head against his chest. Feeling his breathing as she did his best to match it. There was silence in the room as she took in her surroundings, everything from the way Steve smelled, of sweat and leather with a tiny hint of something that she couldn’t place, to the rich and dark colors of the room where she was sitting.  
“We can keep going. But….”  
“But you save the world.”  
Charlie stated simply as she gently closed her eyes and focused on the warmth that was coming from his chest.

-_-_-_-

((few years ago))

She hated group projects. Absolutely detested them. Most of the time it was her doing all the work while everyone else was going to sit there and not do what they were supposed to do. It was the biggest pain in the neck ever. And when the professor said that they would need the help, she inwardly groaned. She was not thrilled about this in the least.  
“Mr. Grant, you will be working with Miss Jolly. Everyone break into groups and you will be getting your topics shortly and then you can go to the library or where ever you decide.”  
The guy that caught her eyes was wearing a navy blue cap and glasses, an army shirt under a blue jacket. She snorted, it was like watching a human sized dorito walk over to her. Sure he was cute, but she had a reputation of strait As to uphold and she wasn’t about to let this jock get in her way of what she was doing.  
“Hi I’m Stevie. Charlie right?”  
“Yeah, hi. Umm how do you want to do this?”  
Charlie looked up as she blinked at Stevie. He wondered what it was she was talking about.  
“Do you want to exchange numbers and pretend to work on this project or are you just going to ditch at the last minute and not care.”  
Stevie looked hurt.  
“Hey now I care about this project just as much as you do.”  
His New York accent making his Yankee status known. In a class about the Civil War and the Reconstruction era would be rather biased about what had gone on. Then they had gotten their topics. Battlefields. Charlie looked at the slip of paper and bit her lip, her brow furrowed as she tilted her head to the side, it was obvious to Stevie that she was thinking.  
“We’re lucky, this is a good local project.”  
“What do you mean?”  
Charlie looked surprised as the rest of the class got up and started to head to the library or the computer labs.  
“How long have you been here? I mean this is Fayetteville North Carolina. Fort Bragg is so close too. There’s so many battle fields in a 2 hour radius around here. It can be hands on learning. Unless you’re not an outdoors type.”  
Charlie went into a spiel about how they could get more out of going there themselves and not spending all the time in the library.  
“I think it’s a good idea. Is there one we can look at now? We can take pictures for the power point presentation.”  
Charlie’s eyes lit up. She gestured to the other side of the classroom wall.  
“Well there’s the Museum of the Cape Fear that has the ruins of Sherman’s March and there’s the Special Ops museum, they have a small local civil war exhibit for the time being.”  
“Why not hit up both? Which one is closer? I haven’t been too familiar. I’m here house sitting for a friend while he’s deployed.”  
Charlie pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ears.  
“The Special Ops Museusm is closer. Then we can hit up the other one.”  
“Do you want to take your car or should we ride together?”  
Charlie shoved her books into an already over stuffed blue and white backpack. She looked sheepish for a moment.  
“I don’t have a car, I usually walk or ride the bus around.”  
She admitted in a somewhat embarrassed voice. Stevie frowned for a moment before she lsung her backpack over her shoulders.  
“We can take my bike then.”  
“Bike?”  
“Motorcycle.”  
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”  
She admitted. Stevie grinned as he then held the door open for her. He told her it was easy, that all she had to do was keep her helmet on and hold his waist. Charlie felt weird about it, getting on a bike with a guy she had just met, not to mention the fact that her Aunt had been a trauma nurse and called Motorcycles the Crotch rockets from hell. She was scared. Her heart raced and her hands shook slightly as she followed Stevie to his bike. Charlie didn’t know Motorcycles that well, but she knew that this one was an older model. She had seen it somewhere before but she couldn’t place where it was she had seen it. But any idiot could recognize the Harley Davidson logo on it.  
Stevie offered her a helmet, which she put on. After giving him directions to the museum, Stevie gave her his hand to help her climb on the back. Her hands were sweating and she felt like her heart was going to leap out of her rib cage. The bike roared to life under her butt, shaking with power. It made the hairs on her arms stand strait up. Then with another roar, the bike slowly peeled off, even though she knew that they were not exactly going like they were the fast and the furious, it felt like they were going much faster. She gripped Stevie around his midsection tightly, she really didn’t want to fall off.

-_-_-_-_-

((present))

“You were so scared when you got on the bike the first time.”  
Steve muttered into the top of her head as they laid back down on the bed. Charlie nuzzled into his chest as they laid atop the cool sheets.  
“I mean could you blame me?”  
“You know I remember that trip to Fort Fisher. I can’t believe you managed to get me out in the ocean.”  
Charlie rolled over to her side, facing Steve as she drew a circle on his muscular chest with her finger. She really couldn’t believe it. Her Stevie, this big dorky doofus, was the singular greatest hero that she had looked up to while growing up. She had heard so many people tell his stories. She shook her head slightly.  
“What? What’s wrong?”  
Steve had asked her, gently brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.  
“It’s surreal. This, us. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love you. But I mean… It’s hard to swallow. I did a paper on you and Bucky for crying out loud for my freshmen World War Two history class.”  
“Did you at least get an A on the paper?” Steve asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.  
“I don’t get anything lower than an A.”  
Steve took his finger and gently lifted her chin up and kissed her lips.  
“I’d hate to have to think that my best girl couldn’t get an A on a paper about me. Would you like to meet Bucky?”


	2. CH 2: I'm a fool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Steve reminisce about their trip to the museum and then they visit Bucky. Bucky shares a secret with Charlie about Steve.

“I like this.” Charlie stated as she reached up and gently touched his cheek.   
Steve touched her hand, pressing it even deeper into his cheek. His beard was scratchy against her soft skin. Each touch of his lip on her skin sent butterflies across her belly. It was like the first time she had ridden his bike all over again. She really didn’t think much of the big doofus when they had first met. Every time Charlie closed her eyes, she thought that when she opened them up, he would be gone. That thought alone made her feel sick to her stomach.   
She shimmied on a well fitting shirt, Steve had said that Shuri had lent her some clothes till they could be sure to get her some. She braided her hair, looking strait into the mirror. There were bruises on her neck and shoulders that could still be seen, a nasty looking gash peeked over her shoulder. It made her feel self conscious.   
Steve ran a gentle hand over the bruises, his thumb exploring and examining the gash on her arm. Sorrow filled his eyes as he kissed her neck gently.   
“I’m sorry,” He whispered. “This, it’s my fault.”  
The tender moment was spent between them as she turned to face him, her back leaning against the sink in the bathroom to prop her up. Both her hands found his neck as she gently placed her forehead against his chest.   
“Stevie, it’s not your fault. You….. you did nothing wrong.”  
Steve had spared no detail on what had happened. How he had to save Bucky, how Sam and Clint and Scott had all helped him. He told her of how T’challa had offered them solitude and sanctuary in his kingdom.   
“This is there fault, not yours. Believe me…. What is right is not always easy. It’s not always going along with things that are lamentably unfair. My great grandfather…. Always told us that doing nothing is being an accomplice to those that would do evil.”  
A small smirk crossed Steve’s face. Charlie suspected that it might have had something to do with the men of the time period. Men were just made of a different cut back then. Her slender arms hugged her tightly. She wasn’t big, but her hug felt big. Steve opened his arms and wrapped them around her.   
“You fit perfect.”  
The whisper was meant to be between the two of them. A knock on the door made the two of them jump. A sheepish and bashful smile crossed their faces as Steve went to go answer the door. Charlie tossed her finished braid back behind her as she pulled on a pair of socks and shoes. Steve called out to her. Charlie wiped off the last bit of moisture from her face on to the towel before she turned and exited the room.   
Steve was standing there with a tall and dark skinned male. That must have been T’challa. The king of Wakanda. There was something awe inspiring about the two men that stood there, having a genuine conversation that seemed to be trivial to their entire existence. They were kings and heroes, but right now they looked like college roommates.   
“Oh here she is, T’challa, this is Charlie. She’s my best girl.”   
Charlie glanced over at Steve, unsure of what to do. Sure like nearly every southern girl in existence, she knew how to introduce herself, as per the rules of cotillion, but that never included etiquette on how to meet a king.   
“I’m Charlie, It’s nice to meet you, your majesty.”  
Charlie did a little head bob sort of bow mixed with a curtsy, but T’challa held up a hand. There was an amused smile on his face though he could see that it was her simply trying to be respectful.  
“It’s just T’challa. You do not have to bow. Here at this moment we are equals.”  
T’challa’s voice was calm and even though when Charlie looked over at Steve, he looked as if he was about to split his sides laughing. She nudged him slightly. What a doofus. Oh she would get him back for that. Steve wasn’t going to know when or how but ooh was he going to get it when she could.   
“He is having a good day. The white wolf is glad to know of your coming.”  
White wolf? Charlie puzzled at the thought as they were joined by some of the most intimidating looking women that she had ever seen in her life. Steve threaded his fingers with hers, giving them a squeeze of reassurance as they started walking through the palace. Did she make her bed? She wondered fretfully, everything in the palace was neat and orderly, exquisitely made from what looked like the richest woods and the deepest colors, she didn’t want the aesthetics to be thrown off by her unmade bed. The palace looked more like a museum than anything else.   
“Stevie, did I make a fool of myself when we went to that museum together?”  
Charlie’s question was low and quiet, something that had been rolling over and over in her mind since they had their discussion earlier this morning. She was only now really able to put words to what she was thinking. Steve tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Her amber eyes met his brilliant blue ones, his were shining mischievously. 

_-_-_-_-_-

((few years ago))

“Here we go.”  
Charlie’s skin felt numb from the air whipping across it as Stevie helped her off the bike. Her hands were still shaking and she was pretty sure they were sweaty as all get out. That was the singularly craziest sensation that she had ever felt. Her legs even felt numb from all of the vibrations that the bike had given off. How was Stevie even standing up strait after that?  
“It takes some getting used to. You alright doll?”  
Doll? Who calls people that any more, Charlie wondered as her hand reached out and held on to the sign post to keep herself upright.   
“yeah, just a moment.”  
She tripped over her words as she straitened up and waited for the feeling to subside in her legs and the normal feeling return. Though this sure beat sitting in the lecture hall.   
Once she felt like she wasn’t about to tip over from unsteady legs at any given moment, Charlie set up a pace beside Stevie. Her shorter legs having to walk nearly twice as fast as his long and purposeful stride. They came to a stop in front of a giant statue that made Stevie’s massive form look small. Charlie’s tenative hand reached out, there was silence between them. Her fingers made contact with the small plaque at the base of the statue. The only thing that could really be heard around here was the sound of the occasional car whipping by or the wind blowing the ropes of the large flag pole.   
“There’s so much history in this place, people just don’t notice it.”   
Charlie said, her fingers lingering over the numbers of the 11th Airborne that was inscribed on the base plaque. They walked into the museum. Charlie paused for a moment to rummage through her bag before dropping a couple of dollars into the donation box. Stevie looked in wonder at the display of the paratrooper that looked like he was floating in from the skylight above.   
Together they walked through the museum, lingering on the Civil War exhibit for longer than nessicary. Charlie took a few pictures with her phone. They stood in front of a Robert E. Lee manequin for a moment while they both jotted down some notes from the plaque.   
“History around here is always warped and twisted.”   
Charlie stated as she scratched out some more notes into her bright red composition book. Stevie gave her a sideways glance.   
“I promise not all southerners are ‘yee-haw the south will rise again!’ sorts. Did you know that General Lee was one of the most brilliant minds in military history. Almost all of his major engagements ended up with him winning. But he wasn’t very gung-ho about the war. He was said to have wanted the country to stay put together. The only reason he fought for the south was for his own homeland.”  
Stevie raised an eyebrow as he turned to lean against the rail. He crossed his arms over his chest. He looked as if he wanted to say something but didn’t want to say the wrong thing.   
“Call it what you will, but the war, it wasn’t fair to anyone. There were plenty of bullies on both sides. There had to be someway that everything could have resolved.”   
“I think it has more of…. Now believe me I do not support slavery at all, that the south felt like they were having their very way of life threatened. We were not like you yankees and could rely on manufacturing. Agriculture was the way of life.”  
Charlie said with a nod of her head. Stevie looked her in the eye.  
“But the south pressed slavery. They were bullies for doing so.”  
“Do you realize that the big plantations and slave owners were like the one percent today? Not everyone had slaves. Most people down here were poor farmers who couldn’t afford a slave. Bullies are stupid and wrong no matter what the day and age was. Slavery was wrong no matter how you try to coat it. Just don’t think everyone had slaves. My Great grandfather had a farm. It was against his religion to own slaves.”  
“It doesn’t mean they weren’t bullies.”  
Stevie said stubbornly. Charlie gave a sigh.   
“no, you’re right. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes. They come from all places.”  
The rest of the exhibition was quiet. Filled with a silence that one could only describe as hostile, they walked in silence, Charlie walking a whole length behind Stevie in silence as she stared at her shoes. Once they got into the main lobby, Stevie turned to face her.  
“You know we are equals, you don’t have to walk behind me.”  
“View’s better back here. Can’t watch you walk from your side.”  
Charlie quipped in a voice that dripped with sarcasm. Her eyes looked up to meet his. The look on his face plainly said that he was half amused by what she had to say.   
“No one is going to agree on anything a hundred percent.” Stevie muttered as he leaned against the rail that circled the paratrooper.   
“No, you’re right. We aren’t going to agree.”  
She nodded her head, agreeing with what he had to say. Stevie’s eyes drifted to the rest of the museum. Charlie’s eyes followed his own.   
“Do you want to check out the rest of the museum?”   
Stevie nodded as he walked in that direction. Charlie followed him, thinking he did have a cute butt when he walked but that was not something she should be thinking. She wouldn’t want anyone staring at her butt so why would she do that in turn to someone else. Suddenly she collided with Stevie’s back as he stood in the middle of the airplane exhibit that showed what the early paratroopers had to go through when they were going behind enemy lines.   
“Sorry.”   
She squeaked as she stepped around him and watched as he ran his fingers over the railing of the benches where the soldiers would have sit on. There was a far away look in his eyes and his lips formed words that were not vocalized. Charlie vaguely wondered if maybe he had heard stories just like she had. A story from an Uncle or a great-grandfather or old neighbor, something that could have described what was going on in a plane like this. He seemed so lost in time.   
“Hey Stevie…. You alright?”  
Stevie blinked his eyes and for a moment he looked as if tears had filled his eyes. He ran a finger under his nose and sniffed, blinking and clearing his throat as he shifted the weight on his feet back to back. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but shook his head and walked off the plane. 

-_-_-_-_-_-

((present day))

“I feel so stupid now.”   
Charlie stated as she remembered his reaction in the gutted out plane. Did she really take Captain America on a tour of how paratroopers managed to change the face of world war two? She had argued with him about slavery in the civil war. This was much stupider that she imagined feeling right now. Steve placed an arm over her shoulder, still keeping their fingers entwined together as they walked outside and through the gardens before stepping into the city.   
“It’s not like I advertised being Captain America you know. How could you have known?”  
“You know now that I look at you, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize it. All you did was wear a hat and fake glasses.”  
She said as she poked fun at him, before poking him right in the ribs. He twitched to the side before he smirked. They stopped at his bike. The same one she had ridden before. Steve offered her a helmet before throwing his leg over the bike and starting it up. Charlie got on the bike with Steve’s help. This was much easier than before. It just took some getting used to.   
They rode out along a dirt road that took them out of the city. The hills were lush, green and filled with trees. There were goats, cattle, even a corral of rhinoceroses. Charlie watched in amazement and wonder as they road. Her hands missed being wrapped around his midsection. They pulled up to a small farm where a lone man stood watch over a pasture with about twenty goats. Charlie removed her helmet and took Steve’s hand as he helped her off the bike.   
“Hey punk.”  
The Shepard stated as he turned to look squarely at Steve. The two men met in a ferocious bearlike hug. Charlie saw how easily the two men moved together. Steve grabbed Charlie by the hand and pulled her over.   
“Buck, this is Charlie, she’s my best girl. The one I told you about.”  
The darker haired male smiled softly as he reached out a hand for her to shake. Charlie did so with a soft smile as well. It was simply awe inspiring to be here with two amazing heroes who were just people. At least Steve was. She wasn’t so sure about Bucky.   
“A doctor huh? Nice. Knew you’d always catch the pretty girl eventually Steve. I’m Bucky.”  
Charlie shook his hand. His eyes showed pain but at the same time it looked as if he was healing. How long had Steve kept his best friend here, she wondered. Charlie had a thousand and one questions that she wanted to ask him, but whether or not it would be appropriate, time would only tell. Not right now though. Today was a time for friendship.   
A bleeting goat off in the distance drew Charlie’s attention. This type of moment really should have been between just Steve and Bucky. Charlie felt like an odd wheel. Bucky meant everything to him, that was as much as she could see in his face.   
“Charlie huh? Where ya from?”   
“Oh, uhh North Carolina. The south. It’s hot and humid and has summer three quarters of the year.”  
Charlie said with a bit of a laugh. Bucky seemed to have that same Brooklyn drawl that Steve did. Bucky smiled good naturedly.   
“So how did you meet this punk?”  
Charlie launched into an explanation in how they had gotten put together on a history project. Steve then went on about how Sam had twisted his arm to take some time off after the Hydra incident in DC.   
“I saw a bunch of that on the news,” Charlie shook her head at the memory of seeing everything on the news. “Captain America, a fugative? Biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard.”  
“He thinks the world of you, ya know? Art dropout super soldier meets girl with a history doctorate, sounds like one of those cheesey romance novels Wanda gave me.”  
Bucky sat down on a large rock overlooking the pasture, he motioned for Steve and Charlie to follow along with him with his crook. The rock it self wasn’t comfortable, but Charlie couldn’t really think of where else she’d rather be.   
“The first couple of months it was just being at Sam’s house for recovery, but I stayed for another reason. It’s not a bad place to relax.”  
Steve ran a hand through his hair as he gently placed a hand on top of hers.   
“Yeah there’s nothing to do other then strip clubs, bowling alleys, and hookers.”  
Charlie snorted with a laugh.   
“No no Steve tell me it’s not true! Did you manage to find you a sweet lady of the night?”  
Bucky teased as he pushed against Steve’s chest with a laugh. Steve gave a half chuckle as he looked down at his feet, his head shaking back and forth. He really couldn’t believe what Bucky was suggesting. He gave a sideways glance at Charlie.   
“I hope you know he’s just doing this to get me in trouble like always.”  
“Oh come on Stevie. It’s natural. You’re a handsome soldier, a guy’s gotta have needs...”  
“I am not getting this from you too!”  
Steve feigned anger as he stomped off to check on the bike, where a goat was trying to chew on the tire. Bucky pulled a rough piece of paper from his back pocket and shared it with Charlie. She took the folded up piece of paper, gently opening it up. It was a charcoal sketch, one of her. It looked really good.   
“Did Stevie draw this?”  
“Yeah, like I said, he’s over the moon about you doll.”


	3. Ch3: Normandy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie is mad at every bit of injustice that Steve and Bucky suffered. There's a peak into their Normandy project and tension that show's how much Charlie missed Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's sex in this chapter yeah?

Charlie ran hot water in the bathroom shower of the little suite that they had been placed in by T’challa. She wasn’t as used to the heat in Africa the same way Steve was. It wasn’t an oppressively humid heat and it wasn’t a dry heat. What ever it was, she was not a fan. Meeting Bucky was nothing like she thought it would be. The whispers of the White Wolf, the ones uttered by the outlying villages that raised the cattle and goats and animals, they spoke whispers of reverence. Charlie supposed that he was mostly like Steve. A hero, one that had seen a life time of hardships and heart aches, one that had sacrificed everything for a country that wasn’t grateful to either one.   
She had seen the way that Bucky looked at Steve, she had seen the way his shoulders sagged, looking a bit bashful or ashamed. There was a dim look in his eyes, like the eyes of the soldiers she had seen when frequenting the museums at times. But past the dim light, there was always the soldier. Maybe not the Winter Soldier, not any more, but a soldier. One who had been broken down and rebuilt for a purpose that went against everything he believed in. Charlie bit her lip as a bubble welled up in her throat. She knew that neither Bucky or Steve would want her pity. It still didn’t mean she didn’t feel sad for the both of them. How many friends had she sent off to war? How many family members? There were three times she had watched the caskets draped in the American flags come back.   
“Hey doll.”   
A strong arm snaked around her waist as she swallowed hard. Her words caught in her throat as she tried to think of what exactly it was that she wanted to say to Steve. The words Sorry just didn’t seem appropriate.   
“This was one of his better days. Shuri is working to help reconnect all of his memories. He remembers me some days better than others.”   
Steve sat down on the bed, gently tugging on her waist as he guided her to the spot beside him. Her shoulders sagged as she felt herself enveloped by Steve’s massive body frame. She trembled, trying to hold back sobs that threatened to make a mad dash from her throat. A strong finger lifted her chin up where her puffy eyes did their best to hold back the tears. She blinked, trying to keep from allowing them to spill over.   
“Tell me what’s up doll.” ‘  
“I just...I don’t know how to say what I want to say.”  
Charlie’s lip trembled as she placed her head on his bare chest. She focused on his heart beat for the moment, using the constant rhythm to help her tick off the seconds so she could have something to keep her own heart from racing out of control.   
“Just give it strait then.”  
“I feel horrible, you and Bucky, you’ve done so much for so many people. You save the world,” Charlie paused to take in a breath. “You saved me. But for what? For you to be hiding someplace because the country you loved and cared about thinks you’re not doing a good enough job? Or because you aren’t going to let them dictate the rules? It’s not right. Biggest bunch of bullies ever. It’s not fair to either of you...”  
Tears rolled down her face as she sniffed and hiccuped. She was both furious and sad at the same time, feeling grief for how both of the men had been treated. Steve wrapped both arms around her and tightly squeezed her.   
“That’s why I love you doll, you care more about others than anyone I’ve ever seen. It ain’t right. But that’s why we’re here. So we can do go and fix this mess. So you getting hurt isn’t an option again.”   
Steve spoke into her dark hair as he felt her shivering in what felt like a mixture of anger and frustration at the whole situation. Her eyes stung and her hands clenched the soft material of his shirt. Charlie tried to swallow, but her stomach rolled over and over. Had it not been for leaning against Steve’s torso, she might have ended up on the floor, curled into a ball and tears streaming down her face like an unbroken stream. She wanted to be a child again, to stomp her feet and scream out whatever was bothering her.   
“You cared about me before I… Before I lost Peggy. I...” Steve’s voice trailed off, like there was something unsaid between them. “Even though I had lost everyone important, Hydra took Bucky, time took Peggy, the government took our ability to do good, I still have you. you’re my rock, Charlotte.”  
Charlie looked up into Steve’s eyes, there was pain, there was an echo of fear. Charlie squeezed his hand tightly, making sure that he knew that she was there. Even if he was Captain America, Steve was still very human.   
“You are just too good for this world. I’m sorry about Peggy. I wish I could have been there for you.”  
Steve gave a sad smile as he nuzzled his face into the side of her neck.  
“You’d have loved her, Peggy was a real spitfire. But she has nothing on you.”  
Charlie wondered if she really could have held a candle to Peggy. For all intents and purposes, Charlie was helpless. She couldn’t fight or shoot a gun, she could research for days on end and speed read books ever bit as fast as Clint could pull back an arrow. Steve had seen her write a ten page paper in a blink of an eye. Academics were not going to save the world. Everything that Steve did, that was what was going to save the world.  
Charlie felt her skin prickle, the tingling sensation of his lip made her breath catch in her throat. She was suddenly made intimately aware of what Steve’s hand was doing, the one that wasn’t gripping her own. She felt his thumb rub against the exposed skin under her shirt. He mumbled something into her neck, Charlie didn’t catch what it was.   
“Hmm?”  
She muttered as Steve lifted his face up to look her in the eyes.   
“Can we? You know? You, me, fondue? Together, just us….”  
“yes….. I want it just as much as you do…” Charlie’s words were cut off as she felt his hard on under his pants, pushing up against her leg. “Maybe you want it more.”   
Her voice was sly and coy. Steve continued the kiss now that he had permission, he never did anything like that without asking. He loved her, he wouldn’t do anything without asking her permission, that was his thing. Charlie was a woman of this day and age, they had different wants and needs compared to so long ago.   
“Is it okay for you?”   
Charlie asked as she kissed his forehead tenderly. His thumbs hooked around the top of her pants as he fumbled with the button. He muttered yes into her neck, leaving a warm trail of kisses as he worked from her ear to her collar bone. His teeth gently bit at her neck, sucking it slightly as he pulled the zipper of her pants down.   
Their lips met, fire and heat between them, breaking only long enough for Steve to gently tug on her ear with his teeth. A moan slipped from her lips, a hand of outstretched fingers ran through his dirty blond hair. His roaming hands left her skin, tugging down his pants and shorts. He let out a groan of relief as his hard on was freed. Charlie’s gentle hand reached down and massaged his freed balls, an even louder groan rumbled from his chest. His hands slid along her back, pinching the clasp of her bra and easily pulling it free, it tumbled to the ground along with her tee-shirt. Just as she massaged his balls, illiciting more groans from his chest, he reached down and rolled her clit in between his fingers. Her body twitched and shivered under his, her hair coming half out of the braid it had previously been in. They shared a kiss, a gentle nibble on the lips as Steve gently pushed her back on to the bed.  
“you are gorgeous doll.”  
Steve stated as his fingers traced a circle around her exposed nipple. Charlie ran a hand through the back of his hair, making him tilt his neck back as to fully enjoy the sensation of her fingers on his scalp.  
“You’re not so bad yourself.”  
Charlie eyed him up and down, she felt his rough and calloused hands against her skin. She felt the way his teeth tugged at her, longing for a kiss, a hunger in his eyes of something that needed to be sated. She felt every inch of him, all of it, pushing at her entrance and dragging across her clit as she shivered in anticipation.   
The first push in made her gasp. He was bigger than she expected, though why she expected smaller when everything else about him was massive seemed like a stupid thought. He moved slowly at first, trying his best to not hurt her. Each breath she pushed out was laced with a slight moan of pleasure, her back arching to meet with his hips.  
“If it hurts let me know Charlie…. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”  
He whispered in her ear as he started to move a little faster, his hand grasping and pulling at her breast as she laid there under him. Her fingers ran down his chest as he moved a bit quicker, Steve grabbed her leg and pulled it up around his waist. Each movement was met with a grunt as he pushed and pulled inside of her. Charlie’s breath was short and quick. She felt her muscles clenching and tightening, grabbing and letting go with each piston like pump into her.   
“Steve, please...”  
She begged. Charlie gasped as he leaned back, giving himself the full range of motion to push into her, rubbing her clit in a circle as he pushed as far as he could into her. The way he drug the bottom side of his dick along the inside of her was enough to make her wriggle in pleasure. She grasped at the silken sheets, tugging and pulling them with each stroke.   
“Sweet Jesus Charlie, you’re so wet…… The way you’re twitching is gonna make me come hard.”   
His words made the hairs on her neck and arms stand strait up as he then licked the tip of his thumb and resumed playing with her clit. Each flick made her shiver, no matter how much she tried to hold back, it seemed to push her closer and closer to the edge. Steve steadied himself with a hand on the headboard of the bed, the other rolling her clit. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he then let go of the bed, supporting her waist with his other hand to hit her at just the correct angle. Her body clenched up, grasping as she shivered and cried out his name as she came hard, nearly pulling up the sheets with gripping them so tightly. Her legs wrapped around his waist tighter, pulling him in as far as he possibly could go.   
“Fuck! Charlie, Fuck...”   
He growled as he came, she could feel his dick twitching as he came, his body shaking and trembling as he throbbed inside her. Her chest heaved up and down as he rolled onto the silk sheets beside her.   
“Steve that was insanely amazing.”  
“I looked up how to do that...”  
Steve said as he rolled over and cuddled into her side. Charlie brushed the hair out of his face and her finger traced his jawline. It was one of her favorite things about him, it looked even more handsome when it was covered in a beard like this.   
“Did you just admit to watching porn?”  
Charlie’s incredulous voice couldn’t contain the laugh behind it.   
“I mean it’s come a long way since I looked at a raunchy magazine. You should have seen the pin up trade of contraband magazines that went through the barracks.”   
Steve was pretty unashamed about what he had said. It had made sense after all. All soldiers at some point in time had been pretty intent on some self pleasure, or that was what some of the soldiers said so they wouldn’t get caught up with a call girl.   
“Military’s come a long way since you were in it Stevie. Now they have to have quarterly debriefings as to make sure privates don’t marry strippers.”   
One of the guys that had been in one of Charlie’s classes had in fact confirmed this.  
“You gotta be kidding me Doll.”  
“Nope.”   
Charlie crossed her finger over her heart as she nodded her head. 

-_-_-_-_-_-

((few years ago))

“What about this book here?”  
Charlie looked up as Stevie held up a book, she squinted at it and then nodded, confirming that it was in fact one of the books that was on her extensive list.   
“Thanks for helping me with this. This Normandy project is insane.”  
“You know I don’t mind Charlie. The civil war project we worked on was fun.”  
Charlie gave a laugh as she pulled another book and set it on top of the growing pile. She pat the pile of books and Steve toted them off to place them in the little alcove that they had appropriated in the university library.   
“Did you ever decide what course of study you wanted to pursue?”  
Charlie asked as she sat down in the chair opposite of Stevie. She started flipping through book after book, jotting down book titles and page numbers as she made notes of what she could use. Stevie would flip through books and tried to help out by sliding over books when he found something that he thought she could use.   
“Not yet. I mean I’m an art school drop out, so I’m hoping to do something a bit more productive.”  
“Art school huh? I considered that for a while before deciding on history. You’re probably a thousand times better than I am.”  
Charlie stated as she absentmindedly doodled on her notebook. Stevie smiled as he stretched out. He had been such a good friend and a huge help. God only knew how much help he had been. If there was a better research partner out there, she hadn’t found one. The best part was when he showed up to research sessions with coffee. Here lately she had been working on less than two hours of sleep as she worked on her papers. For some reason, Stevie had taken it upon himself to make sure that his favorite little humanoid houseplant was fed, watered, and taken out in the sun so it could grow. He had really earned the nickname Den-mother Stevie.  
She wasn’t quite sure what to call their relationship. It wasn’t friends with benefits, it wasn’t that they were together. Charlie’s dad, who was the easier of the pair to get along with, said that Stevie sticks to Charlie like a snail to a building. Charlie had wondered if she should just go ahead and check out some books and take them home.   
A casual glance upwards noted the time. They had been there for nearly four hours. A groan escaped both of their lips as they stood up and stretched.   
“It’s almost curfew. Are you going back to your place or are you staying with your parents?”  
Charlie shook her head, rubbing her eyes as she closed the books. She stacked them neatly in two piles, one pile to bring home and the other to put back on the reshelf cart.   
“Probably my place. I know the storms commin’ and all, but my step-mother has made it plenty clear that we aren’t welcome. My middle sister and me, I mean.”  
Charlie stated as she opened up her phone and slid it across the table with the text on the screen. She stood up and took a large stack of books back to the cart where the librarians would put the books back on the shelf later. Stevie’s eyes scanned over the text and then slid it back when Charlie started to place the books in her bag.   
“That’s bull. She shouldn’t shove you into going to church just because you want to take shelter at their place because of some death storm trying to sucker punch the state.”  
Stevie snapped, his voice dripping with venom. Charlie waved a hand as she dismissed it.  
“It’s no surprise really, everything she does comes with stipulations. I’d do anything for my dad, but it just kills me that he won’t say anything against her.”  
Stevie fell silent as he watched her gather up the last bit of supplies, a few stray pens, depositing crumpled up pieces of paper into the waste basket that was sitting at the end of a row of books. The way she moved was practiced and deliberate. Charlie glanced over at Stevie, it looked like he was deep in thought.   
“You can stay with me. It’s sturdy and made of brick, it’s on a hill so it won’t flood, and I have plenty of supplies to last us a few weeks and some MREs if things get really bad.”  
He offered. Charlie sat down and thought about it for a moment. A brick house was a bit sturdier than the place she lived. To be completely honest she even thought about going to her step-mother’s crazy speaking in tongues church even though she had said many times she liked a more traditional church. This was a great way out, she rolled over in her mind. Stevie was a good friend, so it wasn’t a problem.  
“Yeah, that would probably be much safer.”  
Charlie admitted. Steve offered her a helmet as he then swept a stack of books off the table and helped her put them away. They walked side by side, moving out into the courtyard that was in front of the library as Charlie peered upwards. Right now the sky was clear, there were a few clouds here and there but nothing that was going to herald the oncoming storm that the news outlets had been reporting on for at least the past three days. Tonight. It was supposed to make landfall tonight. Charlie would rather survive through the storm with Stevie than her parents any day.  
“There’s enough space you don’t have to look at my ugly mug all day.”  
He said with a bit of a bashful smile.   
“Won’t be able to see it if the power goes out.”  
“I got candles”  
“What are you a boy scout?”   
Charlie smirked as she elbowed him in the ribs. He feigned hurt and sadness before grinning and nudging her back. She felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. With a little bit of difficulty she fished it out and looked at the text. It was another one from a friend of hers asking her if she had yet grown some balls to ask Stevie out yet.   
“Not a boy scout, just a soldier.”  
Stevie threw a leg over his bike once they had gotten to it, offering up a hand to help her climb on the back of it so he could compensate with the extra weight of her and the fifty pound back pack shoved to the bursting point with books.

-_-_-_-_-_-_

((present time))

The night was cool, the bed however felt hot. Sleeping next to Steve was like sleeping next to a furnace. Charlie sat up in bed, a nightmare had woken her up. Her heart was pounding and she had reached over to where Steve had been. She blinked, there was nothing there. She looked over to the empty side of the bed. Charlie blinked, rubbing the gunk from her eyes as she tried to use the hem of her tank top to wipe the fop sweat off of her face.  
This was something that she felt like she should have gotten used to. He had done it when they stayed together, not sleeping, or eating much. Charlie looked across the spacious suite and saw that he was sitting on the balcony. Her heart had felt like it was doing that sinking feeling once more. It was a twinge of sadness as she saw him sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. She approached quietly, though she had never been able to sneak up on him in the time she had known him.   
“Hey...” She whispered as she ran a gentle hand across his broad shoulders. “Can’t sleep.”  
“Something like that. Those first few hours after sex were amazing sleep though.”  
Steve took her hand and kissed it, pulling it from his shoulder to his lips as he leaned his head against it in a loving manner. Her eyes looked out over the city in front of them. A few scenes in front of her reminded her of the raft. The thought of that place made her face go pale and her hands shake a little. The single word made her shoulders feel like they were burning. A sense of loneliness swelled in her chest as it made her bite her lip.   
“Hey Doll, you trying to strangle me you missed me that much?”  
Charlie let go of Steve’s shoulder. She whispered that she was sorry, that she hadn’t meant to do that. Her heart had been pounding in her chest. Charlie took in a deep breath, it was shaky.   
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to take so long….”  
She swore that sometimes he could read minds. All of the tension made her shoulders and back ache. Charlie swallowed hard as she tried to keep the bile from creeping up in her throat. Her eyes went distant. Steve pulled her down as she sat in his lap, her head into his chest as he kissed the top of her head. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her tightly against him. Her body shook as she sobbed against him.


End file.
